“Commander.”
Daniel turned to see a man, dressed in full SWAT gear, running down the hall towards him. “McGee?” His hope spiked. Had they found some sign of Kyle?
Josh McGee grabbed Daniel’s arm and wheeled him around. “Come with me.”
“Hey,” Daniel cried out as the muscular blond yanked him down the hall and around the corner.
Ignoring Daniel’s protests, Josh found the first door along the new hall and shoved Daniel in.
Daniel stumbled into the darkened storage closet. He grabbed one of the shelves for support. “What the hell?” Once he was stable on his feet, he turned to find Josh peeking out of the door. “Explain yourself!” This was not the way he’d trained his men to behave.
Josh glanced up and down the hall once more before closing the door and locking it. “Sorry about that, sir.” Light bloomed from the screen on Josh’s phone, cutting through the darkness. “I’m not exactly sure what’s going on myself.”
The center of Daniel’s brow furrowed, and he cocked his head. He watched as Josh tapped on his screen before holding his phone out. “What’s this?” Daniel asked taking the phone. A text box was open and the message on it ran chills down Daniel’s spine. Eternity is compromised. Get Commander out. Daniel’s head snapped up to meet Josh’s gaze.
The man gave Daniel a concerned look. “I got that message a few minutes ago from Michael Duncan.”
Daniel glanced back at the phone to check the sender. Whitey. Amusement curled his lip, but the smile was short lived.
“At first I didn’t know what it meant,” Josh continued. “Then Sanders came in and told us to gear up. He said we were going to be bringing you in for questioning.”
“For what?” Daniel asked. He had some idea what this was about, but he hadn’t expected it so soon. Falsifying Eternity’s records had been a risky move. He’d felt safe doing it while Kyle was there. He’d kept the king informed on all of the omissions, but with Kyle missing... He planned to explain things to Carissa, but he hadn’t had time yet.
“Treason.”
Exactly what I expected. “That’s fine,” Daniel said as he handed Josh’s phone back. “I have nothing to hide.” He didn’t have the files here, but he could get to them from any computer. All he needed to do to clear his name was present Carissa with the complete files and explain the situation. Should only take an hour to clear this up. It was high time he told Carissa what was going on anyway.
Josh held his hand out, preventing Daniel from passing him. “You don’t understand. Sanders told us to treat you as hostile. He said you had a hand in the king’s death.” A hurt look passed over Josh’s face. “Is that true?”
Daniel’s jaw dropped as he drew in a gasp of air. He expected the charges of treason for corrupting the files, not regicide.
“Never,” he said in a breathy whisper. His dragon thrashed at the accusation. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the younger man. “I’ve been protecting Kyle since the lad was a child. I would never hurt him?” He’d actually thrashed Kyle many times, but never without a good cause. Daniel reached past Josh for the door handle. Someone was going to get the rough side of his tongue for this one.
Josh’s hand on his chest stopped Daniel from boiling through the door. “Commander,” he said drawing Daniel’s attention again. “We have shoot-to-kill orders.” He met Daniel’s gaze, fear and concern darkening Josh’s eyes. “Someone doesn’t want you to make it through this alive.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold, and he stopped fighting. His stomach turned over as he finally realized his situation. He was in trouble. Deep. “What’s the plan?” Josh would not have saved him from his office if he didn’t have some way out.
The sound of running feet in the hall startled them both into silence.
Daniel could hear muffled voices through the thick door. He leaned closer and placed his ear against the wood to listen.
“Sir!”
“Did you find him?”
Tension radiated through Daniel’s body as he recognized the second man’s voice. Sanders. He was overcome with the sudden need to go out there and beat the hell out of the man. An angry rumble rose from his chest. Josh’s hand on his shoulder startled him and he cut off the noise before it could give them away.
“No. He wasn’t in his office. I’ve already sent men to the brig to see if he’s there.”
“I want him found,” Sanders said. “Double the guards at the gates. Search the building. Top to bottom. I also want teams sent to the palace and his home. And call over to the Coast Guard to see if he’s there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh,” Sanders said before the officer could get away. “There’s a pub on the south side of town called The Dragon’s Wing. The owner’s a friend of his. Turn the place inside out.”
Daniel growled again but didn’t move from his spot. It was well known that The Dragon’s Wing was a safe haven for the Elites of Eternity. The fact that Sanders would order it defiled put him at the top of Daniel’s growing list of suspected spies. He’d already suspected the man for the way he acted when Alex went missing.
“Yes, sir!”
Josh and Daniel both froze when the noise in the hall increased as orders were given. They had just started to relax when the door handle jiggled. After a few seconds, it stopped and the searching men moved on.
Daniel let out the air caught in his lungs. “Now what?” he whispered.
“I’ve got some friends that are going to help,” Josh said. “Give them a few minutes to get into place.”
Moving away from the door, Daniel tried to figure out how this could have happened. Carissa has known me all her life. How could she suspect I would hurt Kyle? Things didn’t make sense. He turned it over and over in his head. Obviously Michael had seen through whatever plot was laid, but why hadn’t he convinced her? Was someone manipulating her? Was she in danger? He shook the thoughts away. He’d leave Carissa’s protection in Michael’s hands. He was more than capable of taking care of his mate. Daniel would deal with that later. What he needed to do right now was concentrate on his own survival. He looked up at Josh and waited for the man to act.
Light filled the room as Josh cracked the door and peeked into the hallway. “All clear,” he whispered.
Daniel settled his coat around him and got ready to run. With the building crawling with guards, they were going to have to be fast about this.
Josh pulled the door open. “This way,” he said, starting off down the hall towards Daniel’s office. As they came to the corner, Josh stopped and peered around it.
Daniel chewed on his lip, waiting for Josh to move. Glancing over his shoulder, he checked the empty hall behind them. He turned back when Josh patted his arm and signaled for them to move.
With light steps, they sprinted across the opening. Daniel glanced down the hall to see two men standing outside his office with guns at the ready. They really weren’t joking around.
Josh led him through the familiar corridors and in and out of rooms as they dodged the squads looking for Daniel. At one corner, they turned and ran straight into a pair of guards.